SPRINGFIELD - Every Saturday, without fail, Sheldon R. Innocent would go for a haircut.

In a routine that was both predictable and regular for as long as his family could remember, Innocent, 24, would get a trim each Saturday at Bill Brown’s House of Beauty and Barber Shop on State Street.

An unnamed 48-year-old barber also was hit. He was critically injured and is receiving treatment at Baystate Medical Center.

Kirkland moments later would get into a shootout with police blocks away at Cambridge and Burr streets.

A Springfield police officer and a state trooper were hit but escaped injury due to protective vests. Kirkland was hit multiple times but survived. He is in stable condition at Baystate Medical Center where he is under heavy guard.

Kirkland is expected to be arraigned next week on charges of murder, three counts of attempted murder, armed home invasion and numerous armed assault and weapons violations.

It remains unclear if the arraignment will be held in Springfield District Court or Kirkland's hospital room.

View full sizephoto supplied by familyHomicide victim Sheldon Innocent is seen here in a family portrait with wife, Savannah, and their 11-month old son, Xavier.

Innocent's death is the seventh homicide in Springfield this year, and the first since March 13. The seven homicides matches the pace of 2010 when there were 16 homicides overall.

State police announced they are looking for a second man, Trevin Smith, 30, of 79 Penrose St., for being an accessory after the fact in Innocent’s killing. A district court arrest warrant was issued for him Sunday afternoon.

Innocent’s family, his mother Emily and wife Savannah, spoke out about his life and death Monday night at the State Street office of State Rep. Benjamin Swan, D-Springfield.

While the events of Saturday are still unfolding as investigators try to sort out what happened, his family is adamant that Innocent’s part in the tragedy was that of a bystander.

They said he was not connected with gangs, had no connection to Kirkland, and could not have been the target in the barbershop shooting.

He was just there to get a haircut, they said.

“He didn’t smoke, didn’t drink, didn’t have tattoos and wasn’t in a gang,” said Savannah Innocent, his spouse of five years.

She said he was a good, decent, hard-working young man who provided for his family.

Savannah Innocent, who is in her senior year at American International College, majoring in business, said he husband worked 50 hours a week at Thing5, a telecommunications assistance company in Springfield. He was also taking business classes online in his free time.

She said they have been together for seven years, and in that time he was always faithful and always provided for her and their 11-month old son, Xavier.

After he got his haircut Saturday, he was going to buy a birthday present for Xavier’s upcoming first birthday.

“A lot of women can’t say they know a good man; I had a good man,” she said. “No, I had a great man. I was blessed.”

Emily Innocent said her son talked about one day getting involved in local politics.

“He wanted to find a way to give back to the community,” she said.

Holding up a photo of him from his high school graduation, she said “This is the picture I’m most proud of.”

DeJuan Brown of the anti-violence group Alive with Awareness, Knowledge and Empowerment, or AWAKE, said they have heard nothing from anyone in the neighborhood to suggest that Innocent was an intended target in Kirkland's shooting spree.

“The murder of this innocent young man is an outrage,” he said. “It really is.”

The probe is being conducted by Springfield police and state police assigned to the office of Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni.

Republican photo | Don TreegerEmily Innocent displays the high school graduation photo for her son, Sheldon, who was shot to death Saturday. She called it her "proudest photo of him."

Officials so far have not publicly discussed a motive for the barbershop shooting.

However, the Associated Press on Monday quoted an anonymous police official close to the investigation as saying the target was the 48-year-old barber, not Innocent.

The official told AP that the barber is related to a suspect involved in the April 23 shooting on Ringgold Street that injured Kirkland’s mother and another woman. No arrest has been made in that shooting

State Department of Correction officials said Kirkland escaped by propping up a dummy under his blankets to fool correctional officers at bed check, and then simply walked out of the facility undetected. One person has been suspended in the fallout, and correction officials have pledged to help law enforcement in any way.

According to a statement posted on its website, the department pledged “to take whatever steps may be necessary to insure that an incident like this does not happen again.”

Governor Deval L. Patrick addressed the incident briefly Monday at a session with the press.

He said he would reserve comment on Kirkland’s escape until DOC officials answer his questions about the matter.

“I want to say, though, how pleased I am and relieved that both the state trooper and the Springfield police officer were ultimately unharmed and that they were able to apprehend the escapee,” Patrick said.

Swan said he also wants answers and may call for a statewide investigation of the Department of Correction.